


From Now On

by Awritesomething



Category: This Is Us (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, One Shot, Pregnancy, Setting up the nursery, discussing marriage, some canon divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:48:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28936539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awritesomething/pseuds/Awritesomething
Summary: Kevin's smile faded. "Not so much like us, huh. There you were right in front of me at Kate's wedding and it still took me two years." He brushed his thumb across the top of her hand. “But I guess two years lost for who knows how many gained. I wonder what our wedding song would be.”Madison blinked. “Our what?”--Kevin and Madison prep the nursery and discuss marriage.
Relationships: Kevin Pearson/Madison Simons
Comments: 10
Kudos: 21





	From Now On

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> It's been a long time since I've written for kevison, but I hope this piece can be a distraction from waiting for the next episode to premiere. This piece does diverge from canon a little in terms of timeline/the guest room (nothing major, though). I also tried to figure out how many weeks Madison would be in this piece and it made my brain hurt, so just know that this takes place a few weeks before Kevin’s birthday at the cabin. 
> 
> The title comes from the song "Blue Skies," written by Irving Berlin. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Upon moving into her house, Madison had intended on turning the extra bedroom into an office or a guest room. Yet as it turned out, her couch worked just as well as the desk she paid way too much for at the flea market. And as for the guest room idea, Madison figured you needed guests to need a guest room. So over the years, the room had become a place to shove everything Madison had no use for elsewhere. It was where Madison hid the green couch her college-self considered the definition of style and the lamp she had been trying to pass on to Kate for years. Kate always refused the lamp, of course, but Madison still thought it would look great in her living room. 

“Are you almost done for today, Kevin? Dinner should be ready soon.” Madison stood in the doorway to the extra bedroom, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that in less than two months, the room in front of her would no longer be _extra_. Today, the room was filled with unopened boxes, semi-assembled furniture, and the scent of fresh paint, but it would soon become the place of diaper changes, midnight feedings, and good morning kisses. 

Kevin looked up from where he sat in the middle of the room, piles of screws and wooden pieces surrounding him. “Yeah, I’m almost done,” he said. He tossed the wooden plank in his hand to the side and it clattered against the dozen other identical planks. “It’s just— I can’t figure out if these big screws are for the sides or for the legs of the cribs.”

Madison pressed her lips together to hide her smile. She glanced over the room, her eyes catching on the rocking chair in the corner. Unfortunately for Kevin, it was the only piece of furniture that came pre-assembled. The chair held a grey cushion, and like the cribs, was stained a dark walnut color. Madison made her way to the chair and sat down, sighing in relief at the chance to be off of her feet. 

“Did you read the instructions?” Madison asked. 

Kevin ran his hand through his hair. “Of course I read the instructions.” He then stood, picking up one of the crib boxes to move it out of the way. As he did, out fluttered none other than the instructions manual, still wrapped in plastic. 

With a gasp, Kevin’s mouth fell open. “Now, where did that come from?” He leaned down and picked up the manual, breaking open the plastic seal. Catching Madison’s look from across the room, Kevin shook his head. “You know, it’s just a crib. It shouldn’t be this hard to put together, right?”

Holding her hands up in defeat, Madison laughed. “If that’s what you say.”

Kevin sighed, turning his attention from the manual to Madison. “It’s not much yet, but what do you think?” he asked, gesturing to the room as a whole. 

Madison leaned back in the rocking chair, placing her hands atop her belly. Looking over the room, Madison worried at her lip. Although today was a start, there was a lot left to be done. “It looks good...”

Kevin tilted his head. “I’m sensing a _but_.”

Madison drew in a breath. “I just wish we would have started sooner.” 

Kevin’s gaze softened. “The walls will be dry by tomorrow, so we can start hanging the shelves and art then.” He set the instructions on a dresser still missing its hardware and stepped closer to Madison. “And I know the furniture situation isn’t great, but Miguel has already offered to help if we need it. I’ve heard he can put Ikea furniture together in his sleep so the stuff we got should be a breeze for him. We’ll get it done.”

“I know we will, but we have the newborn classes on the weekends, and the baby shower is coming up… It’s nearly August too, and I wanted to be able to spend at least a week at the cabin." Madison shook her head slowly. "I should be helping more.”

Kneeling down beside her, Kevin frowned. “You’re already doing enough, Madison. You’re growing two babies so you deserve to take things easy.” Reaching over, he picked up one of Madison’s hands and pressed his lips to the back of it. “Just try not to worry, okay? Before you know it, the room will be done.”

Madison nodded. “Thank you.” With her hand still in Kevin’s own, Madison brought his hand to her belly. “They’ve been moving so much today. I think they know we’re decorating their room.”

Kevin laughed. “You think so? I hope it’s up to their standards.”

“I think it will be cute when we’re done,” Madison said. "I can’t wait until the floral mobiles your mom found on Etsy get here. They’re going to look perfect above the cribs.”

“Oh, so you did get those?”

“Yep!” Madison grinned. “I was worried they’d look too feminine but with the greenery wrapped around them alongside the white I think they’ll work well for a girl and boy.”

“Me too,” said Kevin, moving to stand up. 

Madison held out her hands. “Help me up, please?”

Kevin took her hands, pulling her to her feet. He didn't let go of her hands, instead leading her to the center of the room, careful to avoid the crib parts scattered across the carpet. “Do you like the color?” he asked, watching closely for her reaction. “I’m glad we went with this one.”

Madison turned to look at the walls. After much deliberation and help from a very enthusiastic paint store employee, they had settled on leaving two of the walls white and painting the walls on either side of the wall with the window a soft blue. Grey walls would have been the most gender-neutral option for boy-girl twins, but Madison was never one to shy away from a pop of color. Plus, as the employee had noted from Kevin and Madison's coincidental matching outfits, blue was apparently their color. 

"I do like it." Freeing her hands from Kevin's, Madison rested her head against his chest. She wrapped one of her arms around Kevin, settling for the awkward half-hug that her belly allowed. 

Kevin placed his right hand on Madison’s back, moving it in slow circles over the fabric of her dress. Catching Madison by surprise, he then began humming. Madison listened for a moment before picking up her head to look up at Kevin. 

“What song is that?” she asked.

Kevin stopped his humming. “Hmm?” 

“What song are you humming?”

“Oh,” Kevin said. “It’s 'Blue Skies.'”

A ghost of a smile crossed Madison’s lips. She glanced from Kevin to the drying wall. “Like the paint color.”

Kevin nodded. “My mom taught us that song when we were little.” 

Madison tilted her head back to meet Kevin’s eyes. “Do you remember the words?”

“Yeah, but uh, you don’t want to hear me sing,” Kevin said quietly. 

Madison laughed softly. “You can’t be that bad.”

“No really, Kate took all of my mom’s musical talent.”

Madison lifted one of her hands to Kevin’s cheek, his skin warm beneath her palm. Standing on the tips of her toes, she pressed her mouth to his for a quick kiss. “I suppose you won’t be singing the babies any lullabies then?”

Kevin laughed. “If the goal is to get them to sleep, I guess not. You might have to be in charge of bedtime songs.”

"I don't know if I'd be any better," Madison said with a laugh. "In middle school, I begged my mom to let me join choir because all my friends were doing it. My mom was never one for music but she agreed, and I only lasted a week." Suddenly, Madison's smile became wistful. “But my grandmother, she loved to sing. I told you about how she and my grandfather would rent those campers, right?”

Kevin nodded. 

“Well, I’d always go with them in the summer. We went all over, probably stopped at every touristy place in the country. Today I can barely recall what we saw. But what I do remember perfectly is my grandparents. I remember how my grandmother always managed to overcook breakfast and the way my grandfather would take the time to perfectly fold each of his gigantic maps at the end of each day.”

Kevin reached for Madison’s hand, intertwining his fingers with her own. 

“My grandmother would sing constantly on those trips. She didn’t have a perfect voice, but my grandfather always told her she sang like a bird. She found music in everything and would sing about anything."

“I wish I could have met her.”

“I do too," Madison said. "She would have loved you.”

“Did— did she have a favorite kind of music?”

“My grandmother?” Madison shook her head. ”She listened to everything. And she said when it was time for them to pick out a wedding song, she came up with a list a mile long. But my grandfather told her if it was that easy for him to pick her out of the millions of people in the world, surely she could pick one song out of two dozen. My grandmother always said that was an unfair argument, as he had it easy. Only a fool would miss the chance to be with someone as special as her.”

Kevin's smile faded. "Not so much like us, huh. There you were right in front of me at Kate's wedding and it still took me two years." He brushed his thumb across the top of her hand. “But I guess two years lost for who knows how many gained. I wonder what our wedding song would be.”

Madison blinked. “Our what?” She took a step back, her hand slipping from his.

Kevin scratched his face, not quite looking Madison in the eye. “Our… _song._ ”

Madison raised her eyebrows. “That’s not what I heard.”

“Look, Madison, I—” Kevin took a deep breath. “Is that something you’d want? To get married?”

Madison bit her lip. “I— I don’t want to get married because of the babies.”

“No, it doesn't have to be now," Kevin said, shaking his head. "Like... maybe in a couple of years?” 

Kevin took a step closer to Madison. "When you told me I was going to be a father, I told you my child would be the love of my life. And I love our babies so much. But the way I'll love them is different from the way I love you. And I know we didn't expect to fall in love, but now that I have—Madison, I know it’s you and from now on it will always be you."

Madison remained quiet, so Kevin continued. “The first time I got married I thought it was marriage that made a relationship last. I think that’s why we did get married, marriage was a way to say forever without meaning it. But that’s not what marriage should be. Marriage is two people that wake up every morning and make the choice to make it last. And I think we could do that.”

"You do?"

"I really do.”

Madison reached for Kevin's hands again. "But it's scary, isn't it? Right now, we're living in this bubble of firsts. Everything's new. But what if twenty years from now we wake up and realize the way we feel now wasn't meant to be forever."

Kevin shook his head slowly. "Madison, I'd give anything to wake up next to you for the next twenty years. And maybe you're right, maybe that could happen. But we've done everything backward, and we've made it this far, so why not forever?"

"You Pearsons and your words," Madison whispered. She looked up at Kevin, taking in the intensity of his gaze. Madison felt sure that if she asked him for the moon, he'd find a way to give it to her. 

"Seven months ago we were strangers and now we're building this nursery together, this _life_ together. Kevin, when I look to the future, I want you there. I want to be a family, and not just in the traditional sense for the babies. The babies would be fine either way, I know we'd make sure of it. But I want _this,_ ” Madison said, looking down at their hands, “for us. I think you're right, I— I think we could make it last. I want it to last. I want to marry you, Kevin Pearson.”

Kevin grinned. "So let's do it, let's shock the world and get married." 

Madison laughed. "Someday."

"Someday," Kevin agreed. Freeing his hands from hers, Kevin tucked a loose strand of Madison's hair behind her ear. Tilting his head down, he pressed his lips to Madison's and she kissed him back. 

When they broke apart, Madison was the first to speak. "You know, for a second there I thought you might be proposing right now." 

Kevin shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. "I would have, but I left the ring in the other room."

"Kevin," Madison warned.

"What?" Kevin held his hands up. "I promise I'm kidding. But just checking," he said, lowering his voice. "If I did ask, what would the answer be?" 

Madison laughed, pulling him down by the collar of his shirt to kiss him again. "Maybe you should ask sometime and find out." 

"Yeah, okay." Kevin laughed, his mouth inches from hers. "So how about a different question then, do you think dinner is done?"

“ _Oh._ ” Madison’s eyes widened. "It's probably burnt by now."

Kevin shrugged and drew Madison closer. "So dessert first?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated.


End file.
